We
possess the authority of Jesus Christ only to the extent that Jesus has
authority over us. The authority of God is not a THING that God hands to us –
that we have the right to use as we see fit. No. Spiritual authority is the life
of Christ in us. Thus, spiritual authority is only authority to do what Christ
would do – God’s will.

All
of the rights of a Christian are based solely on the finished work of Jesus
Christ. It is not vested in ourselves as a person. It is vested in HIM. It is
therefore conclusive that the authority of the believer is only the authority to
do God’s will. Again -- I can have the authority of Jesus Christ to do only
that which Jesus would do.

Abuse

Failure
to see this Truth has led to many abuses in the church down through the
centuries. There have always been people, and groups, that have been deceived
into thinking that God vests his authority in people, and therefore, whatever
these people decide is God’s will – i.e., God is backing them up. And once
you convince people that God is behind an authority, you can get them to obey.
This is a pattern which the enemy has used throughout history.

Today
we here folks claiming to have, "the anointing." This is another way
of saying that God has given them authority – authority we ought to submit to.
No. There is only ONE, "Anointed One" – Jesus Christ. In fact, the
term, "Christ," means, "Anointed One." The only anointing
you and I have is CHRIST IN US – and we all have that.

Again,
authority isn’t an IT or a THING God gives to people. Authority is a PERSON in
us, and therefore His authority will only say, do, and operate in accordance
with His Person and will. In short, we don’t have authority. Authority has us.

Abuse
of spiritual authority in churches has been taken so far as to mean that even if
someone in authority is clearly wrong that we must obey them, because God is
behind their authority, and will use the whole thing to His glory. Bill Gothard
teaches this error, along with many others. So did the shepherding movement of
the 1970’s, which is still around in some places. And need I mention the Roman
Catholic Church and the middle ages? Today’s supposed apostolic and prophetic
movement? Abuse of spiritual authority is not only WRONG, but it is out of the
pit.

Notice
that I am talking about spiritual authority here. Civil government is another
thing. We might expect them to err. But in the church is where we find the worst
cases of the abuse of authority: Leaders controlling the personal lives of
others, all in the name of Jesus Christ – all in the name of, "submission
to authority." This is an abomination in the eyes of God. God never tells
us to obey ANYONE just because they are in a position. Rather, He tells us to
obey HIM – and to be open to the Truth if it comes through anyone else. He
never gives anyone authority to do anything except God’s will, and to edify
others in Christ. And if a leader crosses that line they do not have any
authority from God. Therefore, we are not only free to disobey; we OUGHT TO
DISOBEY – lest we become part of the problem.

I
realize the risk here. There are people who would jump at the chance to come
against any authority. There are others who are being kept in line only through
the mistaken notion that they must obey authority. But in the end, you never
help anyone by keeping them living in a lie. It is TRUTH that sets us free, and
not a system of control. If people want Jesus Christ, they will want him outside
a system of control, just as they seem to tow the line inside of it. We are to
preach the Truth and leave the consequences to God.

Spiritual
authority is not the right to tell people what to do. Rather, it is the power to
point them to Jesus Christ. Once we see this, it settles forever whether people
have been given authority over the personal lives of others. They have not. The
only authority you and I have is to set people free to worship Jesus for
themselves, and then, as part of the Body of Christ.

Right
and Might

There
are two words in the Bible usually translated, "authority," or,
"power." EXOUSIA means, "the right to do." DUNAMIS means,
"the power to do." To draw a contrast, if I have a membership card to
an exercise gym, I have the EXOUSIA to get into the gym – the right to enter
and lift the weights in the gym. But this alone does not empower me to lift
them. No. For that I must have DUNAMIS – the power to do.

EXOUSIA
means to have the right. DUNAMIS means to have the might. Understanding this
explains much about why some of the promises of the Bible don’t seem to work.
If I am in Christ, I automatically have certain RIGHTS – exousia. I have
authority over the enemy, etc. But that doesn’t automatically mean that I yet
have the MIGHT to execute my RIGHT to the full. For that, it may require
something ironic: That I be made weak in myself. Again, having the right to lift
weights isn’t the same as having the might to lift them. In order to get the
might, I must grow -- by becoming weak in myself, yet strong in Christ.

Another
way to illustrate this is from a legal standpoint. EXOUSIA – my rights – is
based on justification by faith. I am a son of God, and as such, have a new
identity and have a full inheritance in Christ. But just as a little child would
not be able to understand or live in an inheritance, here we see where DUNAMIS
comes in. Having rights in Christ does not necessarily translate into the power
to do IN GOD’S WILL.

Can
we see that God’s power and God’s authority over anything must eventually be
the product of His authority OVER us and IN us – coming through to God’s
glory? Power is not merely a THING God gives us. Have we any idea what utter
nonsense that would be, let alone how dangerous that would be?

Just
look around Christianity today at the people, especially on Christian
television, who claim to have power, authority, and the anointing. Are they
using this to God’s glory? For the most part, NO. And what they claim to have
isn’t even the real thing. Can we imagine if it were God’s power? Think of
the damage.

This
is precisely why DUNAMIS – the power to do – only comes about through the
work of the Cross. Potentially we have the right to do if we are in Christ,
because we do have all of Christ in us, and in Him is ALL power. But in order
for the power to do to emerge in accordance with the will of God, we must become
those conformed to the will of God. Otherwise, we’d use God’s power to do
our will instead of His.

All
spiritual strength – spiritual authority – is directly proportional to
dependence upon God. And I don’t mean a verbal assent to dependency upon God.
I mean a dependence that characterized who you are to Him, and who He is to you
– in other words, your relationship with God is defined by your dependence
upon Him. Thus, weakness in myself is the key. The weaker in myself that I am,
the less I will depend upon myself, and the more I will depend upon God. This
will result in spiritual authority having God’s way with in me, and therefore,
through me. This must be a LIVING thing – not merely a doctrinal concept.

The
fact is, until I am made weak, I cannot be trusted to exercise the rights I have
in Christ. I may be sincere, and I may even want to do what is good, but just as
an immature person cannot be trusted to rightly handle something of great value
– because they still need to grow – so it is with the things of God. Except
that in Christ things work backwards to our way of thinking. In order to have
the MIGHT to exercise your RIGHT, you have to become utter weak and dependent
upon God. Then the power of God can flow through you, for there is nothing in
you to corrupt it.

Here
we see why Jesus said that we must become His servants to possess His authority:
The reason you must become a servant to possess the authority of Jesus Christ,
is that in order to possess His authority, you have to be crucified of those
things in yourself that would otherwise abuse it.

Right
Without Might = Abuse

Exercising
the authority of Jesus WITHOUT first being made weak results in exactly what we
have been discussing: People telling others what to do, all in the name of
Jesus. People using the things of God like toys. What you get is bondage,
spiritual disease, and in some cases, people turning the power of the Holy
Spirit in a sideshow. This would never happen if we were made weak – for by
the time you are made weak, you know Jesus Christ. You would therefore want to
do only that which He wants to do. There would be a reverence for the things of
God that can come in no other way.

For
though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given
us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed: (2
Cor 10:8)

Therefore
I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness,
according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to
destruction. (2 Cor 13:10)

If
the apostle Paul had used his authority for destruction, would God have backed
him up? Would God have required the people, "under him," to obey him,
and submit to such destruction? People like Bill Gothard would say yes. The
answer is NO. Paul clearly says that he does not have ANY authority from God to
be spiritually destructive. Thus, no one needs to submit to it. Indeed, the only
way to stop such abuse is to refuse to submit to it.

People
who disagree with the Truth on this are either ones who want power over others,
or those who don’t want to take responsibility for their own choices – they
feel safer and more righteous because they have, "submitted." God
wants to bring this whole system crashing down. Get into business with Jesus
Christ and you will obey all authority IN THE WILL OF GOD. And you will not obey
where doing so conflicts with His will.

A
Question

I
once asked the following question to someone who was a teacher of Bill Gothard’s
ideas about submission to authority. Incidentally, Mr. Gothard teaches that you
are only under God’s authority, and in God’s will, if you submit to those in
authority over you. Thus, you must basically do what they say. You are allowed
to appeal to them, but in the end, they are speaking FOR GOD to you – even if
they don’t know it. Gothard would except obvious sinning from the requirements
of his system, although even his definition of that is suspect. Well, anyways,
here’s the question I asked, "If I believed God told me to do something
that conflicted with what, ‘my authority," told me to do, who should I
obey?" Without hesitation, the answer was, "Obey your authority. God
will bless your obedience to them."

Folks,
this is abominable heresy. There is no other word for it. And I don’t care how
you slice it.

Christians
ought to be open to the Truth as it might come through anyone. But I said,
"Open to the Truth," not, "blindly accept," because someone
claims to speak for God.

You
and I might as well get ready. This kind of spiritual abuse of authority is
starting all over again under the guise of the restoration of the apostolic and
prophetic offices in many churches. Expect signs and wonders. Expect this to
become a big deal. But it is error, and the spirit of the enemy. We need to
start looking at what the Bible says about these things.

Scriptures

Scripture
is a plain as can be about this issue of dominion and authority. Here are just a
few examples:

But
they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who
should be the greatest. And he sat down, and called the twelve, and says unto
them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant
of all. (Mark 9:34-35)

And
he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made
perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my
infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take
pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in
distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. (2 Cor.
12:9-10)

If
you read these scriptures, and many more, you will find that authority has very
little to do with the right to tell others what to do. Rather, it has to do with
OVERCOMING all that is not of God – IN US. Authority and power, in the kingdom
of God, have to do with bringing the kingdom of God – which is the RULE of God
– into new areas.

Now,
if you examine that, it brings us right back to the fact that we have no
authority except to do God’s will – to be instruments of HIS kingdom. None
whatsoever. You and I have no power or authority outside of God’s will. And we
cannot even be used as instruments for God’s will until we come UNDER God’s
will and kingdom ourselves. It is utter nonsense to think that God is going to
delegate His authority to those who reject it for themselves. Besides, authority
is not, "delegated," in the kingdom. Authority FLOWS. His authority
flows through you only if the Cross has paved the way.

Submit
to God

Be
you followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. (1 Cor 11:1)

Paul
never wanted a following. He never said, "I’m God’s apostle and so you’d
better submit to me. Rather, he said, "Follow me – the word in Greek is
mimic – as long as it constitutes following Christ. One might ask as to why
any leader in the church today would want anyone to follow them otherwise?

Now,
of course, false leaders will say they are following Christ, and therefore, this
mandates that you follow them. One of the most common scriptures twisted to try
to make a case for this is found in Hebrews:

Obey
them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your
souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not
with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. (Heb 13:17)

What
is the Truth here? That we ought to blindly submit to anyone who RULES over us?
Well, first of all, Paul is predicating his words upon the fact that the
leadership in question is Godly. He is not talking here about false teachers.
But that aside, what does he mean by these words.

There
is a problem here with the KJV. If you look up the Greek in this verse, you see
that the tone of the verse, and therefore, the intent, is much different than is
translated into English. The verse actually could read, and this is a
paraphrase, as to intent, rather than a word for word translation:

Allow
yourself to be persuaded (of the Truth) by those who are your spiritual guides.
They must answer to God for the spiritual impact they have in your lives, and so
if you are open to the Truth as it comes through them, this will enable them to
be used of God with joy and not grief. This will be more profitable for all.

The
passage is simply stating that God has given spiritual gifts to leadership in
the church, for the purpose of edifying and guiding His Body. We are to be open
to the TRUTH – and only the Truth – as it comes through them. The
implication is built into this admonition that we are NOT to be open to error
simply because the person teaching it is a leader, or usually teaches the Truth.
No. We ALWAYS reject error and embrace Truth – no matter who it comes through.

The
moment we cross the line and say that we must SUBMIT ourselves to error because
it is coming through someone in authority, we are violating the Holy Spirit.
Likewise, the moment we say that God will back up error because of the position
of the one teaching it, we are being foolish. No. We are to submit to JESUS
CHRIST alone. And if He is being revealed through someone in leadership – and
He ought to be if that leader is called of God – then submit to the Truth of
Jesus. The leader is the servant and has that place in the Word of God.

Reigning
With Christ

In
the Bible, authority and power from God is the result of ME coming under the
authority and power of God – which boils down to the Cross. But another way of
saying the same thing is this: Power and authority is the result of overcoming
in Jesus Christ.

To
him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also
overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne. (Rev. 3:21)

According
to this verse, authority with Christ is the result of overcoming. But what does
it mean, "to overcome?"

Well,
obviously, "to overcome," means to COME OVER obstacles.
But what kind of obstacles? Any obstacle IN ME that hinders the reign and rule
of Jesus over ME. We overcome these, not by turning inward and fighting the
hindrance – although there will be a struggle. We overcome by surrendering to
Jesus Christ.

All
warfare in the Christian life is a struggle to STAND and to REST in what Jesus
has done. It is a struggle to BELIEVE despite all that contradicts faith. THAT
is the warfare. Jesus has already won all the battles. When we finally surrender
to His authority, then we are reigning and ruling with Him. There is no other
pathway to authority possible.

It
is a sad thing to see people parading across television claiming power and
authority over the Devil, and thinking that this is where the battle rages.
Well, I’ve got a news flash: The battle is IN US. It is for our hearts. God
has already defeated the Devil. Now He wants a people who are willing to allow
Him to reign and rule over THEM – and if we do – then we will be able to
reign and rule over the Devil.

You
and I have no authority over the Devil except we be under the authority of the
kingdom of God – which is Christ in us. None. Christ in us is the only
authority there is, and in Him is all authority. Work from any other basis and
you are deceived.

Authority
in Christ is the result of Christ’s authority over me. But notice: That makes
me His servant. It crucifies out of me any pride or potential for abuse. How
could it be any other way?

We
possess the authority of Jesus Christ only to the extent that Jesus has
authority over us. We are strong in Christ only to the extent of our surrender
and dependence upon Him. The authority of God is not a THING that God hands to
us – that we have the right to use as we see fit. Authority is a Person, and
only as HE is glorified can His power be made known.